


Traumgestalt

by Weisse_Rose



Series: Saving Killian Jones (stand-alone h/c stories through the seasons) [4]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Season/Series 05
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-21
Updated: 2016-01-21
Packaged: 2018-05-15 03:41:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5769901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Weisse_Rose/pseuds/Weisse_Rose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Regina summons Hook from hell and Emma puts him back together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Traumgestalt

Emma looked at each of them in turn before she continued. "And that's why I'm going to the Underworld to bring him back."

There was a stunned silence. David looked at Mary Margaret. She nodded and he spoke up without hesitation. "We will come with you."

Emma shook her head and opened her mouth to reply, when Regina interrupted.

"There might be an easier way."

Emma's head snapped around to her.

Regina stood up and met Emma's stare. "It is difficult to summon things from hell, but not impossible. In my, um, wilder days, I once summoned hell hounds to lead an attack on Snow White's castle."

David nodded, "Yes, I remember that day. We lost many good men in that attack."

Regina looked chagrined, but continued, "I have the paraphernalia needed for the spell. I need a couple of hours to prepare, but I'm certain I can pull it off."

Emma narrowed her eyes. "I don't understand. People have died in the past. Yet you never mentioned before that you have a way to bring them back."

Regina nodded, "You cannot summon ordinary human souls from the Underworld." Emma's face fell and Regina quickly continued, "But you can summon the soul of a Dark One. I just never had the desire to do so. Even in my darkest hour it just seemed like asking for trouble."

Emma jumped up, the hope spreading over her face. She grabbed Regina by the shoulders. Her voice was all contained excitement. "Can you really do this for me?" 

Regina put her hands on top of Emma's and removed them from her shoulders. "You saved me from the darkness. Hook's death was an indirect result of that. This is the least I can do."

"Thank you", Emma said and hugged her. Regina tensed.

She let her be for a minute, then she pulled back. "Okay, enough with the emotional moments, I have work to do." She turned to the door.

"Is there anything we can do to help?", Mary Margaret asked, standing up.

"No, I think I got everything I need."

* * *

Emma eyed the pentagram on the floor sceptically. Candles had been placed on each tip and the floor around it was covered in what looked suspiciously like rock salt. 

"Are you sure this will work?"

"I know what I'm doing."

Regina's voice was cold.

"Of course. I didn't mean ... I'm just nervous", Emma admitted.

Emma suddenly had a bad feeling about the whole thing.

"Regina. I know that magic always comes with a price. What's the price?"

Regina looked thoughtful for a moment. "This spell can only be used to summon the souls of former Dark Ones. They are generally nasty, cold people who try to mess up your life." She smiled. "Present company excluded, of course. As far as I'm aware, there are no further drawbacks. It sort of pays for itself, since you can only use it in the first place to bring back trouble."

Regina stepped closer to her and threw a glance at the Charmings, who were standing around, clearly unsure what to do with themselves. "You know, time doesn't work the same way in the Underworld as it does here. It could be that for him subjectively a lot more time has passed. He will come back confused, probably afraid. I think the less people involved, the better."

Emma nodded and walked over to her parents. Mary Margaret looked like she very much wanted to give her a hug but wasn't sure if it was the right time. Emma made the decision for her and embraced her. 

When she pulled back, she said "Listen. I know you want to help, but I really need to do this alone with Regina."

David nodded. "We'll be over in the next room. Just yell if you need us and we will be here in a heartbeat."

Emma smiled at him gratefully, but it did not reach her eyes. Then she took a deep breath and turned around.

"So how does this work?"

"Sit down in the centre of the pentagram."

Emma did as she was told. "Now what?"

Regina knelt down outside of the pentagram, facing her. "It's important to be _very_ careful when casting this spell, there is a good chance to drag up all kinds of nasty things from hell by accident. The essential part is to focus exactly on who you want to summon. That's where you come in. I need you to sit there and think about Hook, as visually and in as much detail as possible. Questions?"

Emma shook her head. "When do we start?"

"Ready when you are."

Emma nodded her consent and closed her eyes. Her breathing evened and she tried to focus her thoughts. 

She remembered

__

Teeth on cloth atop a beanstalk.

__

A gleaming hook and a wicked smile.

__

Blue eyes, filled with mischief.

__

A stolen kiss, hidden in never-ending green.

__

A declaration of intent, pure and simple.

__

The beating of a stolen heart, reclaimed and mended.

__

Sword fighting lessons with a pure-hearted hero in a world that never was.

__

Stolen quiet moments in between the monsters.

__

Worried blue eyes, piercing through black smoke. 

There was a sudden cut-off yelp, followed by a loud thud to her left.

Her eyes snapped open and she turned her head in time to see somebody scramble away to the corner of the room.

She jumped up and followed. There was a stark naked man cowering in the corner, his right arm over his face, covering his eyes.

"Can you dim the lights?", she whispered to Regina, trying not to spook him any further.

He looked different, the scars were gone and she realized with a start that his left hand was back. But it was, beyond the shadow of a doubt, Killian. Her heart starting beating faster. She intuitively reached for him and he drew back even further into the corner.

She retreated to the desk to pick up the blanket Regina had put there. She approached him again, very slowly and carefully. She dropped the blanket a short distance from his feet, making sure not to make a threatening move in his direction.

Then she sat down as far away from him as she could bear. She fought the overpowering urge to just run over to him and embrace him and never let go again.

After a moment, he slowly lifted his arm a little, blinking. Emma drew in a sharp breath at the pain and wild fear in his eyes. He seemed to regain some of his senses as he slowly looked at her, then at the blanket, then back at her.

His right hand reached out slowly, tentatively. Emma could see the tension in his body even from where she sat. He was ready to run.

He picked up the blanket and wrapped it around him. It seemed that having something solid to hold on to calmed him down a little. He stood up slowly, leaning on the wall heavily.

Then he stared straight at her and she could pinpoint the exact moment when the spark of recognition crossed his face. A slow smile started to spread on his face, only to be abruptly replaced by a look of deep sadness.

"Emma", he whispered. She stood up, a relieved smile on her face.

She stepped closer, carefully. She approached from one side, giving him the chance to retreat out of the corner if he wished to. Instead he stood frozen in place, the strange sad smile still on his lips.

Emma finally lost the battle with her self control. She stepped forward and crushed him into a tight embrace. He tensed, but did not move away. Emma couldn't stop the tears. It had all been to recent. In her mind's eye, she saw again the moment they carried away his body. It had been with her every minute since it happened. She started sobbing.

After a few minutes, she felt his right hand starting to slowly stroke through her hair, in what was clearly meant as a soothing gesture. She took a deep, shuddering breath and tried to get her emotions under control.

She pulled back a little to look at him. He was still wearing an expression of deep anguish she couldn't understand. She put her hand on his face, stroking lightly over his cheek with her thumb.

"I'm here, you're home, it's fine", she said quietly.

He closed his eyes, the sorrow still etched into his features.

"What's wrong?" 

It was a stupid question, obviously. There were so many things wrong that she could not even begin to count them. 

He opened his eyes and this time the sadness, the utter hopelessness, in them was so palpable that she felt it almost like a physical sensation.

"I've had this dream before, love." His voice was rough. His hand went up to her face in a gesture mirroring hers. In that moment, she would have given anything to replace the tortured smile on his face with the cocky grin she was so familiar with. 

"It always ends the same way. I wake up and I'm still ... there." He said the last word with such horror that she shuddered.

She smiled at him reassuringly. "No, this is different. We brought you back."

He looked at her intently and she could see the tears about to spill from his eyes. "Yes, you've said that before, too."

Emma didn't know what else to say to convince him that this was real, so she did the only thing she could think of. She closed the short distance between them and kissed him.

It was different from their usual kisses. It was soft, gentle, almost chaste.

When the kiss ended, he didn't pull back, instead he leaned his forehead against hers.

They stayed like this for a while, then Emma felt Killian take a shuddering breath and suddenly his arms were around her, his hands fisting into her shirt. He embraced her so tightly that she almost couldn't breath. She drew her arms around him as well.

She realized that he was mumbling something into her shoulder, almost sobbing. After a moment, she managed to make out the words he repeated over and over again. _Don't wake up. Please don't wake up. Not yet. Don't wake up._

Her heart broke for him and she started to slowly draw her hand through his hair, making soothing noises.

"Shhh, it's okay, it's going to be fine. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere. You're not going anywhere. Shhhh."

He started sobbing for real then, trembling all over. His knees gave out and Emma half-fell to the floor with him, trying to support his weight.

She couldn't have said for how long they stayed like this on the floor, but it seemed to her to last for several hours. At one point, she realized that Regina was not in the room and wondered when exactly she had left. Emma had been so focussed on Killian that she had neither noted her presence nor absence.

Emma noticed that Killian's breathing had evened, the emotional drain had finally caught up with him and he had fallen into a light sleep.

Emma carefully eased him down, trying not to wake him. She made sure the large blanket was wrapped around him closely. Even in sleep, his features were drawn and the hurt was still clearly visible. She continued to stroke his hair and wondered what she could do to help him. Maybe he just needed time. At some point he would realize that he was not dreaming, that he wasn't in the Underworld anymore. She would just have to be patient.

* * *

He awoke with a start, looking around in panic, before his eyes settled on her and he froze.

"You're still here." The words were a whisper, like he didn't really believe them himself.

Emma smiled at him. "Always."

The hope that appeared on his face was like the sun surfacing from behind the clouds. Emma had seen few happier sights in her life.

"You really brought me back."

There was something akin to wonder in his voice.

Emma's smile broadened. "Always", she repeated fervently, "I will always come for you."


End file.
